1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a drive apparatus for an electric vehicle. More particularly, the invention relates to a drive apparatus for an electric vehicle, which drives an axle using a rotating electric device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rotating electric devices generally include a stator, a rotor and a contact terminal to which a power-supply cable is connected. Electric power from an external power source is supplied to the rotating electric device through the power-supply cable. Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 5-95161 describes a motor (rotating electric device) where a terminal block is provided on the outer periphery of a stator-core.
Compact rotating electric devices are described in Japanese Patent Application Publications No. JP-A-6-22495, No. JP-A-6-351184, and No. JP-A-7-75282.
In Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-8-214492 a rotating electric device where the power-supply cable extends through the side wall of a housing, and connects to the winding wire of a stator via a terminal block is described. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2002-208456 describes a configuration where the connection between a shielding wire and a terminal is sealed with a seal ring fitted to the shielding wire.
In such rotating electric devices, the positioning of the terminal block is important. For example, when the terminal block is positioned outside of the outer periphery of the stator in the radial direction, the height of the entire rotating electric device (i.e., the length in the radial direction of the stator) is increased. However, due to space constraints in a vehicle, there is a limit to the maximum height of the entire rotating electric device that can still fit in the vehicle. Therefore, the diameter of the stator should be reduced so that the increase in the height of the entire rotating electric device, due to the provision of the terminal block, is kept to a minimum. However, reducing the diameter of the stator decreases the output of the rotating electric device.
Also, from another viewpoint, the stator and the rotor inserted in the stator are required to be disposed at higher positions than those in the conventional cases to reduce the agitation resistance caused by oil agitated in the housing when the rotor is rotated.
None of the publications mentioned above addresses the aforementioned problems.